HelpNow Database by Brainfuse

Bibliographic Information: Help Now! database. Brainfuse, 2011.
Genre: Database, Homework Help, Tutoring
Reading Level: All ages
Curriculum ties: Science, Math, Social Studies, Literature, Foreign Language
Awards: Brainfuse recently topped effectiveness rankings from studies conducted by The Los Angeles Unified School District and the Colorado Department of Education.
Note: Library subscription needed to access this database along with patron library card number if  accessed remotely.

Reader’s Annotation: A 24/7 tutoring database that not only helps with homework but builds skills for success in the future such as SAT prep and writing labs for any age.

Contents: The HelpNow! database offers help at Grade levels K-Adult 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in a variety of subjects. Math (including Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus), Science (including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Science), Social Studies (including US History, and World History),  and English/Language Arts. Additional help includes other skill building subjects with assistance with writing, grammar and vocabulary. HelpNow also offers foreign language help which only currently offers Spanish but they hope to expand to others as soon as they can recruit approved tutors. Once teens register at the site, they can keep a record of their activity. The Learning Account Features include the ability to view past sessions, has a dropbox/pick up center, view scores of online tests, and create an online study calendar. Lastly, Brainwaves is an archive for whiteboard screenshots that have been shared by you or other teens which is good for reference, especially when doing math problems.

EXPERT HELP SERVICES

Skills-Building: Our skills building service helps you master an academic concept through expert tutoring and state-aligned online lessons, HelpNow Skills Building has been designed for a variety of age groups and academic needs.
Submit a homework question and a tutor will provide you with a response (usually within 24 hours).
Foreign Language Lab: Our Foreign Language Center provides expert homework assistance and support for students who are learning a foreign language. Expert tutoring is currently offered for Spanish, and a host of helpful online resources for learning other languages is forthcoming.
Writing Lab: HelpNow offers two types of writing assistance:
Live Writing Assistance: Connect with an online tutor for expert writing assistance with our live help feature. Live help is particularly helpful during the initial stages of the writing process when you are working on the organizational and thematic features of your paper.
Intensive Writing Lab: For a more thorough analysis, simply select “Writing Lab” from the launch menu and submit your writing via our secure messaging feature. Within approximately 24 hours of submitting your paper, you will receive a detailed analysis of your paper in your message center inbox. Our writing experts are trained to focus their analysis on voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and organization.

Critical Evaluation: What I like about HelpNow is that it provides three distinct ways of studying, understanding that not all teens learn the same way. This database provides students with peer-to peer, self-study, and collaborative options. The peer to peer component offers students the opportunity to meet with friends using the MEET function. Here you can schedule study sessions and have the freedom to meet remotely which is especially helpful with group projects and studying for tests. The self-study components available include an online test center where teens can access sample SAT, ACT and GED tests as well as subject test including math and science. Once taken, students will get immediate scores and will be able to see in what areas they need improvement. The second self study element is Flashbulb, a collection of flashcards on different subjects which gives students a fun way to study. The collaborative aspect is of course the live tutors. All tutors go through rigorous screening, must have a four year degree, and prior tutoring experience.

Booktalking Ideas: N/A

Challenge Issues: none

Challenge Defense Ideas: There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book.
Why was this book included?:
Company Information: Brainfuse- Founded in 1999, Brainfuse is one of the nation’s leading online education providers, serving a diverse client base of libraries, school districts, workforce centers, and universities. With Brainfuse, users receive real-time tutoring and career assistance from certified instructors via our proprietary online classroom.
Since our founding, we have completed millions of one-to-one tutoring sessions.
Over 30 state departments of education have selected Brainfuse as an approved tutoring provider (based on a track record of effectiveness, state alignment, financial soundness, and the capacity to serve large numbers of students). Our K-12 clients include The Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, and New York City Public Schools.
Brainfuse recently topped effectiveness rankings from studies conducted by The Los Angeles Unified School District and the Colorado Department of Education.
Brainfuse serves hundreds of library systems throughout the country, including Las Vegas-Clark County, The Free Library of Philadelphia, The Connecticut Library Consortium, and Queens Public Library.
(Company information obtained from Brainfuse website. Retrieved from: http://home.brainfuse.com/?page_id=136).

World Book Online Info Finder database

Bibliographic Information: Berkshire Hathaway.World Book Online Info Finder database.
Genre: Reference database
Age Level:  All ages
Curriculum ties: Geography, Science and Nature, Social Studies, World Languages
Note: Library subscription needed to access this database along with patron library card number if  accessed remotely.

Reader’s Annotation: An easy and interactive electronic version of those big, heavy World Book encyclopedias.

Contents: World Book Info Finder Online, equivalent to the print encyclopedia, includes a general encyclopedia, a Spanish encyclopedia, a Kids version of the encyclopedia, and an Advanced version with additional content. They offer a suite of Research Tools that include citation builders and a guide on how to do research. They have a Biography Center with more than 10,000 biography articles which you can either search by name or category (Athletes, World Leaders, Inventors, Explorers, etc.). They offer World Newspapers (offered in the native language), and Current Events sections to get a broad world view of what is happening today. World Book Explores offers virtual tours of things like the colonial life and the exploring the oceans. Lastly, they have a feature called Interactive Earth which includes interactive maps, a World Book Atlas (political, population, economic and meteorological information), outline maps and flags, and Explore the USA/ Explore the World (rich collection of articles, tables, maps, and multimedia).

Critical Evaluation: I think that this site is a great tool in writing a successful paper for teens. One feature that I think every young teen should begin with is the section labeled “Research Tools”. Here, they give teens tips and instruction on how to conduct searches, evaluate your sources, compile and organize data, and present their final work. In the age of the internet, students are not as aware of the credibility of the information presented to them. This feature gives them a guideline to become better informed. The Compile and Organize Data section allows teens to save their works as they go along, which is great for their busy lives, and come back to it when they can. They create a username and password to access their data remotely. Lastly, their citation tool, covering APA, MLA and Harvard styles, helps teens properly cite all different sources (websites, interviews, blogs and more). With an easy drop down menu and entry field boxes, your citation pops up in seconds.

Booktalking Ideas: N/A

Challenge Issues: none

Challenge Defense Ideas: There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book.
Why was this book included?: A great interactive and credible research database for teens.
Company Information: About World Book: Since 1917, World Book, Inc., has set the standard for providing accuracy, objectivity, and reliability in research materials for both children and adults. Based in Chicago, Illinois, World Book is an industry leader in the production of award-winning encyclopedias, reference sources, and digital products for the home and schools.
For almost 90 years, World Book has been committed to publishing encyclopedias and other reference products that meet the highest standards of editorial excellence while keeping pace with the technological developments that define the computer age.
This commitment has culminated in the publication of the number-one selling print encyclopedia in the world, The World Book Encyclopedia, and market leading digital products including the World Book Online Reference Center. World Book publishes nearly 90 reference titles. Recent publications include World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, Animals of the World, World Book’s Science & Nature Guides, Student Discovery Science Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia of Flags, Solar System & Space Exploration Library, Human Body Works, and Biographical Connections.
(Company information obtained at World Book website. Retrieved from: http://www.worldbookonline.com/sales/about).

Novelist Database

Bibliographic Information: Smith, Duncan & Rohweder, Rodger. NoveList. EBSCO Industries, Inc, 2011.
Genre: Book Database
Age Level: All ages
Curriculum ties: Literature
Note: Library subscription needed to access this database along with patron library card number if  accessed remotely.

Reader’s Annotation: A reader’s advisory for all ages that includes reviews and more.

Contents: NoveList® includes:
An easy to use, intuitive interface with a single search bar that makes finding books and other content quick and simple.
Coverage of thousands of fiction series, making it one of the most comprehensive treatments of series available.
The option to sort by popularity and/or Lexile scores.
Links to your library catalog so readers can easily locate their next books to read.
A newly revamped Readers’ Advisory section including RA training, access to NoveList newsletters, Genre Outlines, an online product tour and more.
Curriculum-driven material designed to help integrate NoveList in the classroom.
Feature articles by notable librarians and subject matter experts.
NoveList® also contains:
Hundreds of hand-crafted Recommended Reads reading lists for adults, teens and kids covering both fiction genres and topics.
500 Book Discussion Guides including questions and answers and suggestions for further reading.
450 searchable Award Lists.
Hundreds of Feature Articles, BookTalks and Curricular Connection articles on a wide variety of genres, topics and reading levels
(Information obtained from EBSCOhost website. Retrieved from: http://www.ebscohost.com/public/novelist)

Critical Evaluation: What I like about this database is that all you need is a favorite title or author to search for similar titles. Readers can enter words that describe the contents of a book they would like to read, and NoveList retrieves titles that contain these words in the book’s subject headings field. This feature is especially useful when working with readers who do not know the author or title of the book that they are looking for but can describe the contents of the novel. It also features reviews, annotations, recommended reads, author read-alikes, book discussion guides, booktalks, and feature articles. Since most teen novels are written in series, there is also a way to search by series title and get a list of all the books in that series in order or see what other series that particular author has. As for age groups, NoveList gives the ability to limit your search to Adult, Teen ( ages 13-18), Tween (ages 9-12), and Children (ages 0-8) which is helpful when searching for age appropriate reads.

Booktalking Ideas: N/A

Challenge Issues: none

Challenge Defense Ideas: There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book.
Why was this item included?: It is a great literature resource database that is appropriate for all ages. A representation of databases in collection.
Author Information: Duncan Smith & Rodger Rohweder. In the late 80s Duncan Smith, an avid readers’ advisor, struggled with the fact that readers’ advisory services were only as good as the individual librarian’s memory and ability to read a wide range of genres. Although there are many librarians with an impressive knowledge of books, genres and reader needs, Duncan felt that their effectiveness could be increased if there was a database that allowed them to search for additional titles based on level, subject, title or author. In 1990, he formed a small company with two programmers, Roger Rohweder and John Strickler. They began creating NoveList part-time while maintaining their “day jobs.”
In 1994, they sold their first copy of NoveList and shortly after, Duncan and Roger joined CARL Corporation, quitting their other jobs and working full-time on NoveList. NoveList launched as a DOS product with 20,000 adult titles and 1200 reviews!
NoveList continued to grow and in 1999, EBSCO Publishing acquired NoveList from CARL. At that time, NoveList had 5 employees, counting Duncan and Roger.
In 2000, NoveList changed strategic and philosophical direction by becoming a data creator instead of just a data aggregator. Feature Articles, BookTalks, and Book Discussion Guides were added first, with Author Read-alikes, Readers’ Advisory training content and a variety of other reader and staff materials added later.
There are now over 150,000 fiction titles, and over 4000 custom created articles and lists. In March 2008, NoveList Plus launched adding 50,000 readable nonfiction titles as well.
NoveList, the division of EBSCO Publishing, has grown from its three founders to a dedicated group of 35 professionals who love to read, and from a single fiction database to a suite of Readers’ Advisory products and services.
(Author information obtained from NoveList website. Retrieved from: http://www.ebscohost.com/novelist/default.php?id=10)